Cooking the Perfect Rice

I love rice! I don’t think I can survive a week without rice. Yup I think a week is my limit. When we go travelling I’ve been known to have to hunt down a restaurants that do rice dishes to get my rice fix.

So a blog post about rice surely should’ve existed on my blog already! I think it’s because I see it as such a normal thing to cook and eat, I’ve overlooked how many people are a bit baffled by the mighty little grains!

Like potatoes, this starch staple has many varieties. (Yes I never knew there are so many different types of potatoes before I lived in the UK!)

So same for rice. I do have a few jars of rice at home at all times. They are:

Basmati (great with curries or East Asian dishes)

Risotto rice (obviously… for risotto)

Pudding rice (again… for rice pudding)

Jasmine rice (my staple food, for South East Asian dishes)

Sushi rice (for sushi or Japanese dishes)

I hear you shout “What about the ‘Long Grain Rice‘ I get from shops?” That is a good question! *pat on head*

Long grain rice is not a variety of rice, it’s a grouping of rice grains that are LONG. So basmati rice and jasmine rice fall into this category. They are easy to cook, and gives a fluffy texture when cooked.

Short grain rice, as the name suggests, refers to a group of rice with SHORT grain. Like Japanese Sushi rice and pudding rice. They are sticky and contains a lot of starch when cooked up.

Types of rice

Clearer with a picture, eh?

Now we can tell which rice is which, next we should talk about how to cook perfect rice in my coming post. Till then, pay attention to the rice you’re eating next time! 🙂